Wad column



Dec. 6, 1966 w. B. HORN ETAL WAD COLUMN Filed Nov. 9, 1964 h w Q Q. Ag@QQU Q Q [NVENTORJ' M/ILL /AMB./7'0RN ML 1. /AM /V. KING fDW/IRDEZMERR/TT ATraRA/srr United States Patent M 3,289,586 WAD CGLUMN WilliamB. Horn, Minneapoiis, and William N. King and Edward E. Merritt, Anoka,Minn., assignors to Federal Cartridge Corporation, Minneapolis, Minn., acorporation of Minnesota Filed Nov. 9, 1964, Ser. No. 409,723 6 Claims.(Cl. 102-42) This invention is a combination wad column with or withouta shot protector for shot gun shells which comprises two pieces that maybe releasably secured together and featuring various structural devicessuch as a wall in the wad column portion that is purposely weakened topermit controlled deformation, a separable sealing wad portion that maydrop away from the balance of the wad column to avoid using a one-piecewad column that tends to follow the shot too far, and a center post inthe wad column portion of the unit which prevents blowing the center outof the gas sealing wad land unfavorably deforming the shot protectorportion from the inertia of the shot.

Shotshell wad designers have always strived for wad columns that, inaddition to scaling the powder gases behind the shot charge, have beenlight and compressible. Wad lightness permits the use of less propellentto obtain the same shot charge velocity and reduces the amount ofrecoil. compressibility is desirable to cushion the impact generated bythe expanding powder gases so as to set the shot charge in motion moregradually. This reduces undue deformation of the shot, as well aslessening the pressure levels in the shell.

Various air enclosing structures have been proposed as a means ofachieving these characteristics of lightness and compressibility. Thesehave generally involved folding or assembling paper or fiberousmaterials to create air pockets or assembling together paper or plasticcups. Another approach has been to fill a flexible container with somecompressible material such as cork or the like.

Gas scaling in these devices has been accomplished usually by using suchmethods as a flanged disc wad between the device and the powder or atrailing flange on the lower of the cups.

While these devices have provided both lightness and compressability,they have in fact been too flimsy or lacking in resistance. Under thepressure of the expanding gases, they tend to blow through in thecenter, or totally collapse on firing to such a degree that all gassealing qualities are lost. Also, the sound of report of shells loadedwith such wads is twangy and not conducive to confidence on the part ofthe shooter.

This invention shows how the use of two cooperating plastic wad columnportions with a properly proportioned post between them will provide awad column that is light, compressible, but retains suflicient rigidityand uniformity of collapse to be serviceable.

In the United States at least, there is a considerable amount of handloading of shot gun shells done by individuals from components madeavailable by ammunition manufacturers. Hand loaders benefit from aone-piece wad column that may be conveniently inserted as a single unitinto the shell. When a wad of the air pocket type described above isdesired, it is not detrimental that the pieces be assembled by theindividual prior to loading into the shells. However, if such priorassembly were necessary before use by an ammunition manufacturer, gearedto high production, it would involve another manufacturing step as wellas modification of existing machinery, both of which would be highlyimpractical in terms of cost. The present invention provides a unitwhich may be assembled into a single, secure unit by a hand loader priorto loading it into the shot shell, or in the case of an 3,289,586Patented Dec. 6, 1966 ammunition manufacturer, a unit which may beinserted into the shell as individual components and become securedtogether within the shell as an incident of some other necessaryassembly step. Only a minimum of change in existing loading machinery isrequired.

The structure of the present invention also makes it possible to use wadcombinations of various lengths in order to adapt shell tubes to variousshot and powder charges more readily than is true when the entire wad ismade in a single piece. By varying the size of the top portion of thecombination, a standard and consistent'sized overpowder wad may be used,with resulting ease and economy in manufacturing.

There are many known devices to contain the shot charge, some presentlybeing used commercially. These shot containing devices range from asheet of material wrapped around the shot charge to a unitary cup-likepouch with various refinements. These cup-like devices or shot pouches,now most frequently made of plastic, hold the shot charge together untilit leaves the barrel to improve the patterns achieved and also toprevent the individual pellets from contacting the wall of the barrel.Pellets deformed by engaging the barrel often fly erratically, and gooutside the desired pattern for the shot. Incidentally, leading of thebarrel is also avoided by the use of these pouches. Attempts have beenmade to use a unitary wad column combining a shot pouch with thefiller-sealing portion. These unitary devices, however, tend to followthe shot charge, upon firing, for a considerable distance beyond thebarrel as a result of their excessive inertia. Because heavier pouchwads tends to follow the shot, a trap shooter may mistake the wad pouchfor a fragment of the target and thus confuse a miss for a hit. Heavyunitary devices usually lack compressibility, or when light andcompressible, lack efficiency throughout a commercially required rangeof shell loadings.

The present invention solves the problems associated with a massivecombination unit by dividing the mass of the combination and insuringthat the combination will separate into its components upon leaving thegun barrel. It also brings the aforementioned benefits of lightness andcompressibility and hand loading convenience to a unitary pouch wadstructure.

Accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide an improved wadcolumn for shot shells that is lightweight and cushions the shocks offiring in a controlled manner.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved multipart wadcolumn that may be conveniently handled as one piece for hand loadingbut retains the advantages of multiple piece wad columns for massproduction machine loading.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved pelletprotecting pouch wad column which combines the two above mentionedimprovements with the desired flight characteristic of the shot onleaving the barrel of a gun.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a wad columnadaptable to a variety of loads.

In addition it is an object of this invention to provide a wad columnthat i particularly effective in cleaning or scrubbing the gun barreland sealing the propellent gases.

The invention will be described with reference to the drawings in whichcorresponding numerals refer to the same parts and in .which:

FIGURE 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the overpowder wad-shotpouch combination hereafter called pouch Wad;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pouch wad as loadedinto a shot shell;

FIGURE 3 is a pictorial view in reduced scale depicting the pouch wadleaving the barrel of the shotgun as separate components and droppingaway ,from the shot charge;

FIGURE 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pouch wad at an instantafter the shot shell has been fired; said pouch wad being shown at somepoint in the barrel of the weapon; the scale used is that of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a variation of the pouchwad in which a central snap joint is employed to releasably secure saidcomponents together; the scale is that of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a further variation of thepouch Wad in which a central socket joint is employed to releasablysecure said components together; the scale used is that of FIGURE 1.

In FIGURE 1 the shot pouch-Wad column, generally designated 12,comprises various portions or sections. One of the shot pouch portionsis the cup portion 13 in which the shot charge is ultimately contained.Cup portion 13 is made up of a wall section which may be divided into aplurality of flaps 14 as is suitably accomplished by the multiplelongitudinal slits 15. Slits 15 extend over a substantial portion of thelength of cu portion 13. The base 16 of the cup portion 13 is solid andfixed to the bottom of said wall section in any suitable manner whichwhen, as here, the pouch is made of plastic, comprises molding itintegrally with the wall section.

Below cup portion 13 and secured thereto as by being integrally moldedis a' spacer portion 17 Spacer portion 17 takes the place of the usualfiller wads in loading a shot shell. Within the spacer portion 17, whichis generally hollow, is a support post 18. The support post 18 isdisposed along the longitudinal axis of the pouch- Wad column 12.Support post 18 may be formed in any suitable way to yieldingly spacethe bottom of cup portion 13 from the wad 11. In the drawings thissupport post 18 is represented as 'being hollow having a centrallypositioned conical hole 35'. The spacer portion 17, upon firing, buckleswhich distorts the adjacent portions of the pouch and overpowder wad 11to provide positive separation of them and also absorbs the initialshock of the explosion reacting against the shot charge. Consistent andprecise buckling may be insured by any method of weakening said spacerportion 17 at a desired point, an example of which is the --use ofannular groove 19 to provide an area of the annular wall of spacerportion 17 that is thinner than the wall generally. A rim 20 located atthe bottom of the spacer portion 17 may be used, in part, to releasablysecure the overpowder wad 11 to the shot pouch wad 12. Thus the rim 20takes the form of one-half of a joint, as for example, the butt-lapjoint 21.

The overpowder wad generally designated 11, although most sensiblymolded in one piece, may be thought of as having various portions. Oneof these portions is the outer wall 22. The outer wall 22 has a rim 23at each of its length extremities either of which is used in part toreleasably secure the shot pouch 12 to said overpowder wad 11. Thus, oneof the rims 23 forms the other half of the butt-lap joint 21. The Webportion 24 is positioned at the midpoint of and perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the overpowder wad 11. Web portion 24 is, when thewad is loaded into a shot shell, in direct contact with the propellentpowder. Upon ignition of the propellent powder the web portion 24 inconjunction with the resilient outer wall 22 forms a gas seal with thebarrel of the weapon. This gas seal keeps most of the gas generated bythe burning powder behind the shot charge. A hub 25 is disposed alongthe longitudinal axis of the overpowder wad 11 and perpendicular to theweb 24 to which it is secured. Hub 25 engages, or nearly so, the supportpost 18. These two portions of the pouch and wad inter- 1 act to supportyieldingly the center bottom 16 of the pouch cup portion 13 in spacedrelation to web 24 against excessive distortion from the propellingforce of the powder reacting with the inertia of the shot.

In FIGURE 2 the pouch wad is shown as loaded into the shot shellgenerally designated 27. The shot shell case is of the ordinary typecomprising a casing 28 which includes the tube 28 and head 28a, a primer29, a base wad 30. Inside the case is the pouch wad 11-12 sep aratingthe powder 31 from shot charge 32, and any conventional closure such ascrimp 34 closes the mouth of the case and holds the shot 32 thereinuntil firing occurs.

In FIGURE 3 a shot gun designated generally 36 having a barrel 37 hasbeen fired, the shot gun 36 being loaded with a shot shell incorporatingthe instant overpowder wad shot pouch combination. The overpowder wad 11and shot pouch wad 12 are shown dropping away as separate componentsfrom the shot charge 32 after firing. Because of the separation of theovenpowder wad 11 from the shot pouch 12, the mass of each piece of thecombination is slight and the components lose their forward velocityvery rapidly. They fall to the ground, therefore, sooner after leavingthe barrel 37 than if they did not separate.

In FIGURE 4 the barrel 37 is containing the hot gases 31A generated byburning powder charge 31. The overpowder wad 11 is shown as beingdeformed into a gas seal by the gas pressure between the outer wall 22and the barrel 37. A longitudinal pressure on the shot pouch 12 causesthe weakened sides of the spacer portion 17 to buckle at the groove 19.The support post 1 8 also yields in a controlled manner to allow thebuckling while preventing the center of wad 11 blowing out. Thisbuckling of spacer portion 17 distorts the joint between the wad column12 and the overpowder wad 11 in preparation for their separation andabsorbs and cushions the inertial shock of the sudden pressure appliedto the shot load. Buckling at groove 19 cause the wad column to engagethe gun barrel for secondary scrubbing and sealing at several axiallyspaced surfaces as shown in FIGURE 4. Shot pouch wad 12 receives powerfrom the powder gas 31A via the hub 25 which exerts a force against thesupport post 18 as well as from the edges of sealing wad 11 engaging thetrailing edges of the spacer portion 17. In this manner the cup 13 andshot charge 32 is propelled from the barrel at a high velocity. Theflaps 14 protect the shot of charge 32 from contacting the barrel 37during its travel therein. This protects the barrel from leading as wellas preventing deformation of any of the pellets from abrasion on thebarrel. Upon leaving the barrel 37, the resilient flaps 14 are caught byair and extended outwardly which subjects the shot pouch to increasedwind resistance. Consequently the pouch decelerates and frees the shotpellets to form a desired pattern.

In FIGURE 5 a variation of the combination of the pouch wad is shown. Itis very similar to the structure illustrated in FIGURES 1-4. Thestructure of FIGURE 5 varies from that of FIGURE 4 in having its supportpost '40 provided at its inside bottom with annular groove 41 whichforms the female half of a snap joint 41. The wad center post or hub 42is provided with a ring formed thereon at both ends that matches theannular groove and provides the male half of the snap joint between thesupport post '40 and the hub or center post member 42 of the wad portionhaving a well 43. Also shown in this view is a modification of the jointbetween the outer wall 45 of the wad and the outer wall 46 of the shotpouch. As indicated at 47 it will be seeen that the shoulder or edge ofwad 45 at the outside is beveled and a corresponding bevel is providedon the portion of the annular outside wall 46 of the spacer portion ofthe wad so that what may be called a beveled lap joint is providedbetween these portions. Multiple grooves 48 have been substituted forgroove 19. This form of the pouch wad is found to perform generally inthe same manner as the form shown in FIGURES 1-4 except that it issomewhat more secure when engaged.

In FIGURE 6 there is shown still 'another variation of the combinationwad and shot pouch in which the support post 50 of the spacer portion ofthe pouch is of a diameter to exactly fit a raised portion 51 of the hubor center post 52 of the wad. Actually the portion 51 is flared slightlyfrom its base to its free end and consequently the support post 56 ofthe pouch spacer portion provides a mild snap fit therewith. The joint54 between the wad and the spacer portion of the pouch is substantiallyidentical to the joint at this point used in that structure shown inFIGURES 1-4. In this figure also it will be noted that there are noannular grooves in the side wall of the spacer portion of the pouch. Byhaving the structure made without any weakened portion in the sidewalls, the collapsing that takes place is less controlled butfunctional. A pouch wad spacer portion with ungrooved walls willcollapse to absorb the shock of firing but in a less controlled andconsistent pattern than the structure of FIGURES 15. A vent as at 55 inany form of the device allows air to escape when the wad column isforced into a casing during loading. Vent 55 when used, is located asshown in FIGURE 6.

While all of these variations in the shot shell are shown in pouch wadcombinations of the same size, it is obvious that the spacer and shotcup portions of the pouch may be varied substantially in order toaccommodate :a range of shot charges; variations in powder quantity, inshort to occupy a greater or lesser amount of space in a shot shell asrequired. For example, a relatively light powder charge and :a load ofshot such as for clay target shooting, at close range would require alarge spacer portion. A magnum load for long range hunting would requireless spacing. In this way many variations in shot shell pouch andspacers may be provided but always using the same wad structure.

While all of these pouch wads function in substantially the same way,the structures of FIGURES and 6 may have some advantage of being moresecure when assembled for use by hand loaders for example.

In general the annular wall of the overpowder wad should be short andrelatively thick at its free end as seen in particularly FIGURES 1-4 and6 in order to avoid leaving any substantial amount of plastic at the gunmuzzle. When the wall of the wad is tapered out to a thin trailing edgeat the outside, as distinguished from the inner bevel of FIGURE 5, thewad tends to leave a ring of plastic at the barrel muzzle when variabletube choke devices are used. Thus, although a tapered edge form seems torecommend itself as a seal and is used by some of the known competitivedevices as the preferred shape of a wall for this expanding seal typewad, it is to be avoided at least when polyolefins are the material fromwhich the wad is made.

The structure of the present invention has been tested comparativelyagainst other known wad columns, and the results of these tests areshown in Charts I, II and III below.

Flight distance of wad column Tests were conducted to determine flightcharacteristics of various wad columns with shot protectors of thisinvention compared to other commercial forms. In the tests, targetshells having a load of 1 /3 ounces of No. 7 /2 shot and a velocity ofapproximately 1200 feet per second were loaded using each of several wadcolumns.

Shells were fired on a windless day at an angle of 13 degrees fromhorizontal. The average distance of travel of the Wild columns isindicated.

Only pouch shot protector section travels the 1061 distance; separatingsealing wad travels much less.

b Wads 2 and 5 break into three pieces; travel of major piece isindicated 'Fhe wad columns of the invention and the knownwadshot-protectors 1 and 2 are for shell cases having shorter base wadsand therefore greater load capacity and wad requirements. Nevertheless,the structure of the invention has less average carrying distance thanany of the others and substantially less carrying distance than wads ofequivalent length.

Patterns The following are averages of ten round pattern test using 3dram equivalent loads with 400 counted #7 /2 pellets. The gun used wasthe same for all shells fired.

After each round, a 30 diameter circuit was scribed to embrace thelargest number of pellets piercing the target. This number was noted andexpressed in the chart as a percent of the total of the pellets known tobe in the shell. The number of circles of four inches diameter withinthe 30" circle that were not pierced by a pellet was also counted andnoted in the second colequally loaded shell hulls as nearly identical ashumanly possible except for the wad column used were prepared with eachof several known wad columns and that of the invention. Breech pressure,pounds per square inch, and shot velocity in feet per second weremeasured for each shell as fired and the average of these measuredpressures and velocities are recorded in Chart III.

CHART III Wad Column Velocity, Breech Presf.p.s. sure, p.s.i.

Invention 1, 257 10, 900 Known 1-. 1, 239 12,800 Known 2.. 1, 206 11,770Known 3.. 1, 177 10, 460 Known 4.. 1, 178 8, 660 Known 5-. 1, 193 10,200 Known 6 1, 174 10,800

It can be seen that only shells developing substantially greater breechpressures have a velocity comparable to that of the invention.

It is apparent that many monfic-ations and Variations of this inventionas hereinbefore set forth may be made without departing from the spiritand scope thereof. The specific embodiments described are .given by wayof ex- 7 ample only and the invention is limited only by the terms ofthe appended claims.

What I claimed is:

1. A combination shot pouch and overpowder wad comprising, a hollowcylinder member forming a pouch and spacer having a solid portionextending transversely thereof intermediate its ends and dividing saidhollow cylinder into inequitable pouch and spacer portions, the latterbeing smaller, said pouch portion having longitudinal slits in its sidewalls, said spacer portion having at least one annular groove in itsside wall at about its midpoint; said groove being deeper at one sidethan the other; a hollow support post secured to said transverselyextending solid portion and approximately centered in said spacerportion, an overpowder wad comprising a hollow cylinder shorter than itsdiameter, a Web dividing said overpowder wad into two like ends, a hubformed centrally on said web and extending longitudinally equally inboth directions; said hollow support post and hub engaging each other,at least on firing, to provide yielding spacing structure between saidoverpowder wad and shot pouch; the adjacent ends of said pouch spacerportion and overpowder wad engaging each other and providing thereby, atleast in part, releasable means for securing said pouch and wadcylinders together.

2. A pouch wad for a shot shell, the combination of an overpowder wad,wad column and shot pouch in which the improvement comprises means forreleasably securing said overpowder Wad to said Wad column and shotpouch, whereby said overpowder wad separates from said wad column andshot pouch upon firing, said means for releasably securing said shotpouch to said overpowder wad comprising but-lap joint located at thejunction of said overpowder wad and said wad column; said overpowderwad, and shot pouch having cooperating support means to give support tothe bottom of said shot pouch and the center of said overpowder wad,said support means comprising a hub in said overpowder wad and a hollowpost extending from the bottom of said shot pouch, said wad columnhaving an annular wall spaced from said post and separating said shotpouch from said overpowder wad, said annular wall having an annulargroove therein to promote consistent radial distortion thereof onfiring.

3. A combination shot punch and overpowder wad comprising, a hollowcylinder member forming a pouch and spacer having a solid portionextending transversely thereof intermediate its ends and dividing saidhollow cylinder into inequitable pouch and spacer portions, the latterbeing smaller, said spacer portion having at least one annular grove inits side wall; said groove being deeper at one side than the other; ahollow support post secured to said transversely extending solid portionand approximately centered in said spacer portion, an overpowder wadcomprising a hollow cylinder shorter than its diameter, a web extendingtransversely across said overpowder wad, a hub formed centrally on saidweb; said hollow support post and hub engaging each other, at least onfiring, to provide yielding spacing structure between said overpowderwad and shot punch; the adjacent ends of said pouch spacer portion andoverpowder Wad engaging each other and releasable means for securingsaid pouch and way cylinders together.

4. A pouch wad for a shot shell comprising in combination: a flanged gassealing overpowder wad; a hollow cylinder of plastic material open atone end and having a transverse web intermediate its ends, said cylinderincluding longitudinally extending slits on one side of said Webcommunicating with said open end, said open end of said cylinder andsaid web forming a pouch for receiving the shot of a shot shell; aninterconnecting portion rigidly secured to one of said flanged gassealing wad and hollow cylinder and releasably secured to the other; andyielding means on said hollow cylinder on the other side of said Weballowing controlled and only limited collapse of said hollow cylinderupon firing of said shot shell.

5. A shot shell comprising a cylindrical casing, a wad column in saidcasing including a hollow cylinder open at one end and closed at theother, said cylinder engaging the inner surface of said casing, and agas sealing overpowder wad releasably secured to and closing the openend of said hollow cylinder, said cylinder including a weakened areaintermediate its ends, said gas sealing overpowder wad being a flangedmember with a flange extending away from said hollow cylinder and meanson said hollow cylinder walls causing them to yield axially and distortradially to form a series of axially spaced, gun barrel engaging, gassealing surfaces.

6. A wad column comprising: a hollow cylinder closed at one end and openat the other; a symmetrically yielding post centrally arranged insidesaid hollow cylinder, secured to said closed end and extending axiallytherefrom to at least a point nearly at the open end of said hollowcylinder; and a member abutting said open end having a portion designedto engage said symmetrically yielding post, said symmetrically yieldingpost being hollow and said member abutting said open end being a flangedgas sealing overpowder wad including a transverse web and a radiallycentral hub secured to said Web as to be adjacent said post and meansprovided as part of said hollow post for allowing controlled air passagethrough said hollow post during loading.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,095,817 7/1963Clark 10-2-95 3,127,837 4/1964 Lockwood 102-95 X 3,180,265 4/1965 Rybak102-42 3,191,534 6/1965 Vecchiotti 102-95 3,211,100 10/1965 Clark 102-95X 3,217,648 11/1965 Foote et al 102-42 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,111,889 3/1956France. 1,269,200 7/ 1961 France. 620,234 5/1961 Italy.

OTHER REFERENCES American Rifleman, vol. 114, No. 2, February 1966, pp.28-30 (eflfective date July 1964 for pouch wads 1-3).

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner. R. F. STAHL, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent N003,289,586 December 6, 1966 William B. Horn et all,

It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patentrequiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read ascorrected below.

Column 2, line 31, for "tends" read tend column 4, line 38, for "cause"read causes line 70, for "seeen" read seen column 6, line 26, for"circuit" read circle line 72, for "moifications" read modificationscolumn 7, line 3, for "I" read is line 33, for "but-lap" read buttlapline 64, for "way" read wad Signed and sealed this 19th day of September1967.

(SEAL) Attest:

ERNEST W. SW'IDER EDWARD J. BRENNER Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents

4. A POUCH WAD FOR A SHOT SHELL COMPRISING IN COMBINATION: A FLANGED GASSEALING OVERPOWDER WAD; A HOLLOW CYLINDER OF PLASTIC MATERIAL OPEN ATONE END AND HAVING A TRANSVERSE WEB INTERMEDIATE ITS END, SAID CYLINDERINCLUDING LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SLITS ON SAID SIDE OF SAID WEBCOMMUNICATING WITH SAID OPEN END, SAID OPEN END OF SAID CYLINDER ANDSAID WEB FORMING A POUCH FOR RECEIVING THE SHOT OF A SHOT SHELL; ANINTERCONNECTING PORTION RIGIDLY SECURED TO ONE OF SAID FLANGED GASSEALING WAD AND HOLLOW CYLINDER AND RELEASABLY SECURED TO THE OTHER;